


Love and Honor

by Philosophizes



Series: Bad Decisions Series Backstory Fics [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Humans, M/M, Original Characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 14:37:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2736236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Philosophizes/pseuds/Philosophizes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Same-gender marriage is made legal in Germany. Now, this wouldn't be a problem, but Feliciano wants a church wedding.</p>
<p>(Technically a sequel to <i>You and I</i>, but you don't actually have to have read that to read this. Just know that Ludwig and Feliciano had a civil union prior to the events of this fic.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love and Honor

**Author's Note:**

> So I got a question over on Tumblr about the difference between the Vatican/Cristoforo's treatment of the whole being not-straight thing between _You and I_ and _With Sorrow_. In the process of searching my files to remember what the name of this fic was so I could point out the process of his development I realized that _I never **actually** posted this._
> 
> So I would like to thank basketofnovas for alerting me to this problem.

“If you don’t get your ass back to the house _right now,_ ” Gilbert muttered, leaning sideways towards his brother. Below them, on the floor of the Reichstag, the Diet members were milling about, ready to leave now that they’d voted. Outside, the gathered crowd was screaming and chanting and laughing; their joy making the windows vibrate. “I’m going to disown you. And don’t you _dare_ argue with me about you _‘have a job to do’_ , I’m covering for you.”

Ludwig, who was about to half-heartedly protest that very point, shut his mouth.

“You’ve had that ring in your pocket the whole week- _go use it._ ”

Ludwig dashed for the stairs, mentally planning how he was going to get to their house from here through the crowd.

* * *

Feliciano was painting when he heard the front door at the end of hallway open. He stopped, paintbrush resting pressed onto the canvas.

“Ludwig?” he called.

There was no answer, but the study door, just down the hallway, opened and there was the familiar _thunk_ of a briefcase hitting the hardwood desk.

Feliciano put the brush down and took his apron off, then plunged his hands into the metal basin sitting atop the cabinets he’d gotten Ludwig to help him put in for storage. If Ludwig was home this early, then something had happened and he wouldn’t want to deal with paint everywhere on top of whatever-it-was.

Ludwig walked into the studio as Feliciano was taking a small scrub brush to his fingernails. He came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, ignoring the possibility of splashed soapy, dirty water. Feliciano felt him inhale against his hair.

“Ludwig?” he asked, wiping his hands down the sides of his apron. “Ludwig, what’s wrong?”

Ludwig turned him away from the basin wordlessly and reached into his pocket, taking out a small black box. He pressed it, still closed, into Feliciano’s hands, wrapping his own around them.

“It passed,” he said simply. “Half an hour ago.”

Feliciano stared at him, then their hands.

“Oh,” he replied, lifting their hands so he could kiss Ludwig’s fingers. “ _Oh…”_

Ludwig pulled him close while Feliciano clutched at him and cried, whispering a prayer through his tears. He took the box from his love and slipped the ring onto Feliciano’s finger, on top of the one from their civil union promise twenty years previously.

“Feliciano Costa Vargas-” he said solemnly. “Will you be my legally-wedded husband?”

Feliciano smiled at him and laughed shakily.

“You had to ask?”

* * *

Antonio was first to the phone because his husband was doing his best to break up a shouting match between their two eldest children by getting involved himself. He snagged the phone off the cradle and leaned against the kitchen counter, letting the distance of his old manor house drown out the argument.

“ _¿Bueno?_ Which Beilschmidt is this?”             

_"Tonino-”_ Feliciano sobbed on the other end.

Antonio straightened in surprise and worry. Sicily was the only one who usually called him Tonino.

“Just a second Feli I’ll get your brother _- **LOVI** IT’S FELI HE’S ON THE PHONE CRYING I DON’T KNOW WHAT DO **HELP!** ”_

_“I-I’m just-”_

Lovino dashed into the room and snatched the phone.

“Feli, Feli-” he started to say frantically.

“Lovino _approvata_ , **_approvata_** -”

“What?” he asked. “What was approved?”

“It passed _the law passed,_ ” Feliciano sobbed. “We’re getting _married,_ Lovino; we’re getting married like you and Tonino have been for _years-_ ”

Antonio was hovering. Lovino glared at him and moved the mouthpiece of the phone away from his face for a moment.

“The Diet got their fucking act together and legalized same-sex marriage _go make Cenzo and Cato stop fighting._ ”

“Ah _they’re getting married?!_ ”

“ _Yes_ they’re getting married-”

_“I’M SO HAPPY FOR YOU FELI!”_ Antonio yelled at the phone. _“DID YOU CALL FRANCIS YET YOU SHOULD CALL FRANCIS-”_

“Let me talk to my own fucking brother on my own damn phone!” Lovino snapped at him. He shoved him towards the door. _“Cenzo and Cato!”_

Antonio pulled out his phone and started texting people in rapid succession as he ambled towards the living room.

“Feli,” Lovino said, sighing as he put the receiver near his mouth again. “My husband’s being a little bastard and spreading the word for you. Do you want me to go smack him-”

“No, no, everyone would find out anyway- oh; that was fast.”

“What?”

“Erzsébet and Matthew are texting me to say congratulations and oh there’s Francis and Arthur and Liesl and Herakles and Sadık and Ivan and Yao- Lovino Feliks is calling me-”

“Answer it then. Tell the _nipoti_ their _Zio_ Vino says hi, okay?”

“I will I’ll call you back okay? Bye.”

Lovino hung up just as Giuditta poked her head into the kitchen.

“ _Zio_ Feli and _Onkle_ Ludwig are getting married?” she asked.

Lovino scooped her up.

“Yeah, they finally are.”

* * *

Zell Beilschmidt came home from school to her fathers and the younger twins in the living room.

She hung her bag up on the rack and walked in.

“ _Vati-”_

Ludwig patted the couch cushion next to him with the hand that wasn’t holding Feliciano. While she sat, Feliciano tried to quiet Heinrich and Sonnehilde.

Sonnehilde wriggled in his lap.

“Why’s _Vati_ home?” she burst out. “You’re _never_ home this early and we’re having a Family Meeting-”

Heinrich, characteristically quiet, clutched at the front of Ludwig’s shirt and huddled against him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked quietly, sounding very scared. He didn’t like it when things went differently from usual.

Feliciano smiled a little and reached over to pet his hair.

“Nothing’s wrong, Heinz. Everything’s really really good actually-”

He glanced up at Ludwig and his smile got much bigger.

“Your _Vati_ and I are getting married.”

Heinrich looked at them, puzzled.

“But you’re already married?”

“You have us you’re _supposed_ to be married!” Sonnehilde exclaimed in distress.

“A lot of people didn’t want _Vati_ and _Babbo_ getting married,” Zell told them, leaning into her father. Ludwig put an arm around her. “So they said it was against the law.”

“But-”

Heinrich looked back and forth between his parents before hiding his face against his Vati again.

“You’re in love,” he said.

“Yes we are,” Feliciano told him gently. “And we have paperwork that says we live together and you’re our children but now we’ll get new papers that say we’re married and we’re a family; because they made a law today that says it’s not illegal anymore.”

“We’re family anyway,” Sonnehilde muttered, glaring at nothing in particular.

“You’re right Nia, we are. But now everyone else will have to say we are too.”

* * *

Ludwig was scrubbing down the kitchen after dinner when Feliciano came back in and joined him, taking the designated sponge to the dampness he was leaving behind.

“We need to start talking about this Ludwig,” he said.

“I know. Are we going to manage this like we did the ceremony?”

Feliciano was quiet as he wrung the sponge out and rubbed down the next section of counter.

“ _Spatzi_?” Ludwig asked, halting his cleaning.

“I want to ask Father Hirsch to officiate Ludwig I know you aren’t comfortable with the Church and faith but we’re getting married and it’s not _right_ without God and he’s been really good about us you know and everybody else has too no one gives us looks or says things to us when we go to Mass together and they don’t do it when it’s just Gilbert and I and the children and Father Hirsch has never _ever_ tried to tell me I’m bad for loving you and having a family and living with you and I think he really might actually do it and-”

Ludwig reached over and took his hands, gently unclenching his fingers from the sponge.

“Feli, if you want to have a Catholic wedding and can find someone to officiate, we’ll have a Catholic wedding. I- I just don’t want you going to a priest and asking, and then they turn on you-”

“I don’t know if he will but I don’t think he will and _please_ Ludwig I have to try-”

He reached up to cup Feliciano’s face.

“I know.”

* * *

Father Edward Hirsch was usually confident in his ability to handle the unexpected, but this confidence didn’t take into account the unexpected arrival of his most personally-troubling congregation member in half-hysterics.

“Uh- _Herr_ Costa-” he began, starting to rise from his seat behind his desk.

“Father Hirsch the law passed yesterday and please please _please_ will you officiate for Ludwig and I we’re going to get married and I _really_ don’t want to do it without the Church but if we have to we will you’re the only person I can ask I would love for my brother to do it but I know he won’t I don’t even know if he’ll come he kind of came for the party after our civil ceremony but this is different I know the Church d-doesn’t approve but please you don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable I understand really but _please-_ ”

“ _Herr Costa_ \- sit… sit down.”

Feliciano immediately took the chair opposite him and fisted his hands in his lap.

“You want me to do _what?_ ” he asked, massaging his forehead. Saturday morning was not the best time for this.

“I- I want you to marry Ludwig and I if you think that’s wrong you can tell me you won’t and we’ll just have a civil ceremony that’s okay-”

Judging by the way he was on the verge of tears, it _really_ wasn’t.

Father Hirsch sighed. He didn’t feel at _all_ qualified to make this decision.

It was true that he had personal problems with Feliciano Vargas, once _Repubblica italiana, veneziano_ \- he’d admitted them to himself and God. He was fine with the man’s living arrangements, his children were being brought up in an exemplary manner, and he was a weekly regular to Mass and Confession-

-and that was the problem.

Confession.

He’d been slightly surprised at how easily he’d taken the news that the Italian who’d begun to turn up much more regularly thirteen years previously was living and raising a family with another man. Father Hirsch had certainly never considered himself prejudiced, though he was aware his thoughts on homosexuality tended to be a little less than completely tolerant- there were some things, he’d realized, he was bad at facing up to.

The news that his newest congregation member was over two thousand years old and had died more times than he could remember was far more troublesome and disconcerting; because for all that he wasn’t as comfortable as he might like to be with homosexuality, at least that was a _human_ thing.

It was easy not to think about the fact that Feliciano Costa Vargas wasn’t normal by any stretch of the word when he was leading services, or going about his life- but in Confession, everything came out. He knew more than he liked about the man’s personal history. Admittedly, Gilbert and his brother he rarely saw were also Nations-turned-human- but they didn’t remind him about it every week.

And, Father Hirsch suspected with a sinking feeling in his stomach, he’d have to go very deep into the old Nation side of them- because he found that he’d already passed through the question of whether or not to marry the two of them and was currently wallowing in the fear-tinged nervousness and anxious dread of what he’d have to ask about in the pre-marital interview.

Not that he was going to tell Feliciano that.

“I’ll need to speak with you and Ludwig, _Herr_ Costa,” he told the man sitting across from him.

“Ludwig and I?”

“Yes; I have to-”

Feliciano scrambled for his phone.

“Ludwig’s at home I’ll call him over-”

And Father Hirsch didn’t have the heart to stop him, though it meant he’d suddenly lose quite a bit of time he thought he’d have out of his schedule.

* * *

Ludwig was never quite sure anymore how to handle himself in a church. Gilbert had taught him when he was small, but it had been just over a century now since he’d gone to a service or Mass and really _believed_ any of what was being said.

He hunted around for Father Hirsch’s office and knocked on the door.

Feliciano opened it, wide-eyed and expression strained. On reflex, Ludwig hugged him tightly and pressed a kiss to his temple. Feliciano flung his arms around his neck and squeezed, trying to get rid of his stress.

Father Hirsch cleared his throat.

Ludwig jerked away, self-conscious and slightly scared of his reaction; but Feliciano grabbed his hand and pulled him over to sit in front of the priest’s desk.

Father Hirsch leaned forward and folded his hands on his desk. He stared at them for a time, long enough that Ludwig’s nervousness started to get the better of him.

“I don’t know you well, _Herr_ Beilschmidt,” he said finally. “ _Herr_ Costa I know… _quite_ well, but you- there are questions that need answering.”

Ludwig’s hand tightened subconsciously around Feliciano’s.

“What are they?”

“Have you been baptized?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t believe that Gilbert would have let it go undone.”

“How long have you known your partner?”

He went sick to his stomach and put on his best business face to hide his shame and fear.

“I’ve known Feliciano since 1917 when I took him prisoner after he routed at Caporetto,” he said as evenly as he could. “We’ve been friends since the Tripartite Pact in 1940; and in a relationship since 1974.”

“The Tripartite Pact-”

“I _was_ the Greater German Reich,” Ludwig said, and it terrified him to put it into words because the look, shocked and distant and judging was the same each time and now Father Hirsch had it and he was _ruining_ things again they’d be refused and it would be _his_ fault-

Feliciano grabbed the side of his head and forced his face around so they were looking at each other.

“I love you,” he told him in Venetian. “I’ve seen what you’ve done and lived through it and _I love you._ Now we’re going to get up and leave so we can talk and you can calm down and then we’re coming back to finish this; and if _he_ can’t see you for who you are now and how you’ve changed from the man who used to yell and intimidate people all the time because that was the only way he knew how to deal with his life, then he doesn’t _deserve_ to be at our wedding.”

* * *

The sanctuary was quiet and Feliciano had no qualms whatsoever about sitting Ludwig and himself down on the pew least-visible to anyone walking by or coming in the doorways and petting his love’s hair.

“What if he hates me?” Ludwig mumbled into his shoulder.

“Then he doesn’t know you well enough to see why he shouldn’t,” Feliciano told him. “I mean you barely ever come to Church and I don’t know if you’ve ever even said more than five words at a time to each other before so he only knows you from what I’ve told him and what Gilbert’s told him and whatever he can come up with from how our children are other than just now.”

“But-”

“Ludwig, you were a really terrible person and that’s definitely something that you shouldn’t be okay with but _you’re not that person anymore._ You realized all the bad things you did and why they were bad and you don’t do them anymore and you feel really bad about it and apologized and do your best to make up for it. And you never lie about it when people ask; you always always tell them that you were Germany when the Nazis had power and you did what they told you to and actually didn’t question it a lot because the things they said and believed had a lot to do with the culture and ideas and things that you’d lived in all your life. You could lie about that and say _‘I didn’t_ _know’_ or _‘Well I couldn’t do anything but I didn’t agree with them’_ like a lot of people did, and nowadays none of the humans would know any different, but you’re honest with yourself and everybody else and you don’t try to hide the things you did to make yourself look better and all that stuff makes you a _good person_.”

Feliciano spared a moment to kiss him.

“And that good person is the one I fell in love with because he’s really kind and sweet and cares a whole lot and works hard to make things better and checks stuff all the time to see if it’s _actually_ really an okay thing or if there might be something wrong with it; and when he gets angry and frustrated and hurt he doesn’t go and take it out by making everybody else hurt too and blaming them for it and things.”

Ludwig held in silence for a few moments, then sighed deeply.

“Let’s go back.”

* * *

Just about the last thing Father Hirsch had expected at this point was for Ludwig and Feliciano to walk back into his office after leaving so suddenly, but there they were, hand-in-hand.

The first thought he had was that this clearly boded well for their relationship that they’d stand with each other; and his second was was there really any point to having a full interview to decide on marrying them if _this_ was how his thought process was going to continue going?

They sat back down, and he pushed away the part of him that was still reeling from a case of _‘did not want to know’_.

“And you’ve been living together how long?” he asked Ludwig.

Ludwig spent a moment staring at him.

“Uh- consistently and officially, thirteen years. But we have been in and out of each other’s houses for various periods of time previous to that.”

“How has your relationship with each other been throughout your history together?”

The resulting silence was distinctly uncomfortable.

Ludwig looked to Feliciano, expression uneasy. Feliciano looked back at him and smiled reassuringly.

“It always seems to get better every time we see each other!” he said happily. “We argue and stuff but we’re better at making up than we are starting arguments anyway.”

Ludwig kept eye contact with Feliciano for his part.

“I wouldn’t be the person I’ve come to be if you hadn’t stayed.”

* * *

Two weeks passed, and then Father Hirsch pulled Gilbert aside after Mass and asked if Ludwig had ever been baptized, and if he could please provide proof and also see if Feliciano had any but he trusted his word that he had if he couldn’t; and then things kicked into high gear.

_“Of **course** you were baptized Catholic!”_ Gilbert yelled down the hall as he scrolled through his contacts for Cristoforo’s number. _“ **I’m** Catholic what did you expect!”_

_“I remember going to more Lutheran ceremonies!”_

_“That was the **government’s** doing if I’d had **my** way you’d have been going to Mass-_ hey Kit, how’s things?”

“More interesting now that you’ve decided to call,” Cristoforo answered calmly from his room three countries away. “And why are you distracting me?”

“Okay. So, you heard about Lutz and Feli actually getting married officially and all?”

Cristoforo sighed and put his pen down.

“I believe I was the fourteenth person in that particular gossip tree. If you’re asking me-”

“They found someone to officiate and he needs proof that Ludwig was baptized, so if you’d write a letter to the effect of _‘I baptized him and it was done in good faith in the proper Catholic manner’_ that would be awesome.”

“Gilbert.”

“Yeah?”

“You do realize you are asking me to produce documentation for the express purpose of violating one of the greatest Sacraments of the Church.”

“Yeah,” Gilbert said. “But you’re not the Vatican and the Holy See anymore; no more than your brothers are Italy or mine is Germany. We’re all human; we can make our own decisions. So I called because I thought maybe you’d like to dissent.”

He heard Cristoforo sigh on the other side of the line.

“ _Who_ is this man they’ve found?”

_“Kit-”_

“I’m not going to _report_ him,” Cristoforo snapped. “I want to _know._ ”

“I-”

“You thought enough of me that I might agree with you on the marriage; give me enough credit to not report someone because his own personal relationship with God informs his actions contrary to Church doctrine- you _know_ I’ve had enough of that already!”

“Father Edward Hirsch,” Gilbert said reluctantly. “Here in Berlin.”

Cristoforo reached for a clean sheet of paper and picked up his pen again.

“Thank you Gilbert,” he replied. “Be well.”

He hung up before the other man could say anything else.

                _‘To Father Edward Hirsch-  
                                       It has been brought to my attention that the baptismal states of two of your congregants, Mr. Ludwig Beilschmidt and Mr. Feliciano Costa Vargas, are in doubt-’_

* * *

When Ludwig stopped by the church after work to check on available dates and times for the sanctuary- it had to be on a day that wouldn’t be busy, on a day when no one who cared would notice a group descending on the building; that was the only way to avoid word getting to the Archbishop of Berlin who would _surely_ report this and no one wanted to risk Father Hirsch’s position- a very official letter was shoved at him by the slightly white-faced Father.

Ludwig took it, saw the letterhead, and started to read through it quickly. He had to flip to the attached sheets a couple times after reading through the personal testimony- both of the attachments were high-resolution pictures, one of an aged baptismal certificate, the other of a truly ancient church records book.

He skimmed through the rest of the language on the importance of baptism and the Eucharist and oneness with God and the religious community until he got to Cristoforo’s signature; written in full and with all the stylings no Pope had ever bothered to divest him of.

Ludwig handed the letter back to Father Hirsch, noting the obvious lack of any reference to exactly who or how Cristoforo had been made aware of the doubt about his and Feliciano’s baptisms, or in what circumstances they had arisen. The letter was a flawless example of complete deniability; and as much as he could wish -mostly for Feliciano’s sake- that Cristoforo would be open and unequivocal in their support, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the man’s deviousness. 

And it was a distinct step closer to acceptance than the refusal they’d gotten about attending their civil union ceremony two decades earlier.

Small victories.

“So we’re all in order then?” Ludwig asked Father Hirsch.

“It would appear so,” he replied faintly.

They stood together in awkward silence for a few moments before Ludwig cleared his throat self-consciously.

“I was considering April 25th-”

“The Feast of St. Mark,” Father Hirsch said automatically. He blinked then, and seemed slightly confused. “You said- _‘I’_ -”

“The Feast of St. Mark is- was, Feliciano’s feast day, before. When he was Venice. It’s special to him, and I wanted to suggest it if it was open.”

“It’s open.”

* * *

The phone always seemed to ring at inconvenient times.

Feliciano had almost managed to start dozing, and now he had to force himself off the couch to grab his phone and see who was calling and hopefully ignore it and go back to sleep.

But it was Cristoforo, so he _had_ to answer.

“I wish to speak with you,” his brother said immediately upon hearing the connection. “Face to face. Please get your computer.”

“Cristo _forooo-_ ”

“I want to talk about your wedding.”

Well now he was _never_ going to get a nap in today.

Feliciano dragged himself upstairs and switched his laptop on, opening the video program. A few clicks brought his brother’s face up on the screen.

“So.”

Cristoforo leaned forwards on his desk in the Vatican, hands steepling before his face.

“How has your officiant reacted to you?”

“He- he knew about us before I asked…” Feliciano said uncertainly. This was not what he had expected. “About Ludwig and I and also the Nation thing even though I’m not sure he thought that one out all the way or actually about Ludwig much at all which makes sense I guess Ludwig barely ever goes to Church-”

“Has he been mistreating you, Feliciano?”

“N-no. We… have to keep everything kind of a secret so the Bishop doesn’t find out because the Bishop will tell the people at your place and Father Hirsch will get in a bunch of trouble and nobody wants that-”

“But he has not offered you insult, or abuse, or acted in a way unbecoming of a priest-”

“Well, if you don’t want to count agreeing to _marry_ us as _‘unbecoming’_ ,” Feliciano interrupted him, suddenly peevish. He’d been expecting to sleep and he wasn’t sure what Cristoforo wanted, or what he might say. “Then no.”

Cristoforo sighed.

“If you don’t like us getting married could you just _say-_ ”

“I know you love him; and he loves you,” his brother replied. “You have been good for each other. You make a home together. You are raising children together, Gisela adopted when her parents would not have her, Sonnehilde and Heinrich of both your own… material, though that was certainly not orthodox science. You do everything a proper married couple should already. If I was going to really, truly object; I should have done so long before this point.”

“And what if we _didn’t_ have children, Cristoforo? What if we didn’t want children and weren’t going to adopt or _anything_ and we _weren’t_ fulfilling the ‘true purpose of marriage’?”

“…You would still be my brother.”

“Cristoforo that didn’t even a _little_ answer the question.”

Feliciano found himself frowning and drew his feet up onto the chair seat, hugging his knees and nuzzling into them for comfort.

“It just _hurts, fratellino_.”

Cristoforo did his best not to look away awkwardly; and Feliciano heard Ludwig’s footsteps on the stairs.

“Should we even bother sending you an invitation?”

“I-”

“Feli-”

He uncurled from his seat and held his arms out for a hug.

“Hey Ludwig!”

They got most of the way through the kiss before Ludwig noticed that Cristoforo was watching them from the computer. He pulled away quickly.

“Er- hello, Cristoforo.”

“Hello Ludwig.”

“What did Father Hirsch say?” Feliciano asked insistently. “Ludwig, Ludwig-”

“April 25th is available.”

“A-”

Feliciano mouthed the rest of it to himself silently, looking confused.

“I asked for it, for you, because I know it’s an important day-”

Cristoforo quietly exited out of the video program to leave them be.

* * *

“Ludwig, Ludwig- this is _hard,_ ” Feliciano said unhappily, looking at the papers spread across the table.

“No it is not,” Ludwig told him. “You’re just looking at it and thinking it looks like too much work.”

“But it _is!_ ” Feliciano insisted. “I mean, we’re not really _hiring_ anybody to do anything besides some of the food and the invitations and programs and seating cards because we _know_ a bunch of people for the flowers and the pictures and the decorating and for the ceremony too as readers and things but we have to coordinate and pick out the wedding party and decide what positions we’re actually going to have and _I just want to get married._ ”

Ludwig felt a little ineffectual in the face of Feliciano’s exasperation.

“I have a list,” he offered.

“Of _course_ you have a list.”

“As there is no bride involved in our proceedings, we will not have a need for bridesmaids or train bearers. Seeing as neither of us have parents of a sort, I believe that Gilbert and Lovino should fill in adequately for those positions.”

“Where did you put the children in on your list? And are we having groomsmen and are some of them women and is Kiku going to be our best man again he did a really good job last time-”

"Sonnehilde is of the right age to be a flower girl, should we have one. Heinrich could be the ringbearer, but as he is also of the age to be a flower boy and Zell could fit very well into the ringbearer position, I believe it’s advisable to arrange it so.”

“Did you _ask_ them yet?” Feliciano needed to know.

Ludwig smiled a little.

“Nia already asked if she could be a flower girl, and if she could wear a fluffy dress. Heinz was _very_ serious about the flower selection and gave me print outs on the subject.”

Feliciano smiled a little back, and then it grew, and he giggled.

“As for the groomspeople, the person I have in place at the moment is Kiku. I would like him to be the best man again. If you could make up a list of the people you would like in the party-”

“Can Gilbert and Lovino be groomsmen and do the not-actually-parents thing?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Um, Ludwig-”

                He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes?”

“Who do _you_ want for the groomspeople I shouldn’t decide all on my own.”

“I- you have better and longer relations with them than I-”

“ _Ludwig._ This is your wedding too! You don’t have to do everything to my tastes! Except the food _we_ _can’t have bad food._ ”

Feliciano stared the other man down until he gave in.

“I… would like Erzsébet and Roderich and… Francis and Alfred, should they consent. They have been good friends to me when it was difficult.”

“Well I think we should have Antonio and I’d like to ask Feliks so that’s nine people with Gilbert and Lovino and Kiku if everybody agrees that’s absolutely enough and they can be ushers too if we need them so we’ve covered everybody; put the list away Ludwig.”

Ludwig gave him a look, suspecting that he was just trying to push things out of the way to have them ‘finished’, but sighed and acquiesced. The next topic he had to broach was, unfortunately, not as comfortable for him.

“The uh- Father Hirsch has provided a list of acceptable scripture readings-”

“Ooooh the readings!” Feliciano said, significantly more interested now. “Oh but Ludwig a bunch of them talk about wives I don’t think we can use those.”

“I believe that Father Hirsch thought of this and therefore neglected to include those readings, though it leaves us with-”

Ludwig started to turn red.

“Significantly- narrower-”

Feliciano watched him for a moment, and burst out laughing.

“ _Ludwig,_ you’re embarrassed by Songs!”

_“I am not!”_

“Yes you are!”

Feliciano controlled his laughter long enough to wink raunchily at Ludwig and barreled straight into a hearty the scripture.

“Hark! my lover-”

“Feliciano!”

“-here he comes springing across the mountains-”

_“Feliciano.”_

“-leaping across the hills. My lover is like a gazelle or a y-haha- a y-hhehua- oh Ludwig I _can’t_ I’m sorry it’s too _silly_ but it’s scripture so I shouldn’t be laughing at it-”

“Well,” Ludwig said stiffly, trying to recover his dignity. “I think it’s a perfectly fine response given the language used. Our other option is from Jeremiah, and I believe we should select it.”

_"Please.”_

* * *

The invitations went out and generated a greater-than-expected response rate. They had followed the etiquette they’d used for their civil ceremony and sent them out to all the now-human Nations- though there wasn’t any risk of professional awkwardness in offending anyone now, it was still only _polite_ , even if they didn’t know everyone _well_ there was a sort of fellowship there- but this time nearly two-thirds of the world responded with an RSVP; and everyone sent well-wishes whether they were coming or not.

Gilbert offered his unsolicited opinion when Ludwig expressed astonishment over this fact by pointing out that most of them weren’t even Catholic, and since when had they been this popular?

“Hey, everybody loves a party,” he’d said. “And seriously, Lutz? We’re used to traveling _all the damn time_ to check in on our people and visit each other and go to meetings. They’re all probably going a little stir-crazy now that they don’t have a reason to go anywhere else and they have to buy plane tickets to visit friends. This is a good excuse to get together all in one place, dance, talk, and get drunk.”

“They had better _not_ get drunk,” was Ludwig’s only response to that.

He and Feliciano spent a couple worried hours researching theological differences before Zell saw what they were doing, told her uncle, who called Antonio, who got in contact with Sadık directly to say he’d heard he was going to the wedding and was really surprised he’d go to a Catholic ceremony given history and religious differences.

Sadık gave him the telephone equivalent of a deeply unamused look before replying _it’s a **wedding**_ and Antonio exercised some subtlety and told him _well maybe you should call Ludwig because I bet he’s working himself up trying to plan for religious and cultural differences, you know how he likes to run things_.

Within the hour, Feliciano was answering a phone call from Sadık, who’d organized a conference call amongst the Muslim ex-Nations who were attending and ended up deputized to make sure the engaged couple knew to just **_calm down,_** _you’re People of the Book and we wouldn’t have said we were coming if we weren’t fine with showing up, you know what we don’t eat and we trust you to keep that in mind_.

Rahel called separately from Jerusalem a few minutes later, directly to Ludwig’s cell phone, to tell him that, while she appreciated what she knew he was trying to do, he could have just _asked._

Gilbert offered his second unsolicited opinion of the day then, this one that Rahel was probably sick and tired of the way Ludwig was always jumpy around her, he should know since she was the mother of his son; and that if his brother didn’t go ask if he was right, _he_ would.

Feliciano answered the third phone call mostly as a way to stay out of the developing argument.

“ _Salve_ -”

“Have you chosen readers or a cantor for the ceremony yet?”

“Uh, _Cristoforo?_ ”

_“Have you?”_ he demanded again.

“No-”

“Good. _I_ will be serving in those capacities because I will _not_ sit through other people doing so! I have little faith in their capabil-”

Feliciano found his voice.

“You’re _coming?_ ”

“I-”

Cristoforo faltered, the stern confidence he used for all business matters leaving him.

“Rahel will be arriving in Rome with Cassiel three days before the wedding. They will be staying overnight with Giovanna and I, and then we will be coming to Berlin together.”

“I- I- You-”

“Feliciano?”

“Thank you _thank you_ -”

* * *

The week before the wedding was a giant rush. Gilbert’s old house in Potsdam was opened for the first time in over a decade, aired, cleaned, and decorated for the reception. Last-minute clothing alterations were made. Wedding programs came in from the printer just in time. Guests and family arrived, ducking in and out.

The wedding rehearsal and dinner went by in a swirl, human spouses and children introduced around to ex-Nations they’d only ever heard of before and friends falling into old habits around the food and drink.

Feliciano lay awake in bed after they had returned home and put the children to bed, staring at Ludwig.

The other man reached over drowsily to touch him.

“ _Spatzi_?”

“We’re getting married tomorrow,” he whispered into the darkness. “Everyone’s coming and we’ve got a church and a priest and oh Ludwig _we’re getting married-_ ”

Ludwig rolled over and pulled him close.

“Yes we are. Sleep, so you’ll be awake for it tomorrow.”

* * *

The hours between waking and the start of the ceremony passed in a daze for the both of them.

They woke still in each other’s arms, and dressed quickly in old clothes for breakfast, then made sure their children were getting ready before going to get dressed themselves. They stole touches and glances as they got ready, the nervous, anticipatory energy building.

The rest of the wedding party arrived- Lovino in the most expensive suit he owned, Francis trying to outdo him for style, Antonio and Erzsébet conversing amiably while Alfred fidgeted out his nervous energy under Roderich’s disapproving eye.

Gilbert shooed his nieces and nephew down the stairs in front of him, Ludwig and Feliciano following behind.

Francis started a round of applause, much to their embarrassment, while Erzsébet and Alfred expressed their wordless joyful enthusiasm with hugs.

Kiku stayed reserved up through the welcoming bow and the presentation of a handcrafted and calligraphied envelope of wedding money; then gave in and participated in a group hug with his old friends.

“Here we are again,” he said quietly into the huddle.

Feliciano snuggled closer to both of them.

“Just like always.”

Cristoforo interrupted gently to give the engaged couple individual blessings in Latin that Ludwig couldn’t quite sort through; but it brought Feliciano to tears, and he collapsed into his brother’s arms after the younger hesitated for a moment after he’d finished, then pulled him down for a quick kiss to the forehead.

They arrived at the church in plenty of time. Everyone gave themselves a final once-over to make sure they were put together, no one had forgotten anything, and everyone remembered how things were supposed to run.

The wedding programs were put out by the entrance and Heinrich and Sonnehilde were given their flower baskets. Erzsébet took pictures; and then Ivan arrived to join Roderich on the piano with his cello, and a soft background of hymnal pieces being practiced endured through the time until Father Hirsch arrived. Last-minute confessions were taken care of, and then Cristoforo descended.

_“Be nice, he’s our priest!”_ Feliciano hissed quietly as his brother passed by.

“Father Hirsch,” Cristoforo said, and the noise level in the antechamber to the sanctuary audibly dropped.

Antonio, who had been holding the Father’s attention, departed quickly.

Father Hirsch turned, a little surprised.

“Ye-”

He took in Cristoforo’s completely black ensemble, save for the white tie- the closest approximation the man could come to a priest’s vestments without wearing them himself- and blanched sight of the gold tie pin of the Papal coat-of-arms.

Cristoforo held out a hand.

“Cristoforo Pietri.”

Father Hirsch took it hesitantly.

“It- It’s a great honor to meet you, um-”

He thought back hurriedly to the letter he’d received.

“-Your Eminence.”

“And I am glad to meet you as well,” Cristoforo said, taking Father Hirsch by the arm and gesturing towards the sanctuary. Father Hirsch went with him nervously as the first guests began to arrive.

The wedding party hustled Ludwig and Feliciano off to different side rooms, where they were joined shortly by their brothers, each in their own way providing emotional support in the minutes leading up to the beginning of the ceremony.

* * *

Francis dropped in a few minutes before the processional began to say that everyone had been seated and things were about ready to start.

Ludwig had to take a couple of deep breaths before he could leave the room. As it was, he stood frozen for a few moments after he exited; transfixed by the sound of the crowd in the sanctuary, and his children lining up at the front of the wedding processional, and Feliciano’s half-smile at his brothers as he adjusted his cufflinks.

Feliciano noticed Ludwig then, and smiled fully as he started over. Ludwig choked up as he did, the situation really sinking in.

He was about to get _married-_ not just living together, not in a civil union, not just with children; but _properly married._

He caught Feliciano in a tight embrace and Feliciano responded by flinging his arms around his shoulders.

Ludwig pulled just enough away after some long moments to look his love in the eyes.

“I love you,” he said softly.

“Me too. For a long time.”

Feliciano drew back and took Ludwig’s hand, bringing it up to kiss before leading him to their place at the end of the processional.

In the sanctuary, Ivan started up Pachbel’s _Canon in D Major_ , accompanied now by a few of the musically-inclined guests who could navigate their way around a string instrument; and Heinrich and Sonnehilde stepped through the doors, flower petals ready.

Zell entered with the rings; and Cristoforo and Father Hirsch went in next, side by side-

Alfred and Francis followed after them; then Erzsébet and Roderich, who would slip away after the processional to take his spot at the piano-

Lovino and Antonio, Gilbert with Kiku-

And they were standing together at the doors of the sanctuary, looking down the center aisle towards the altar and the receding backs of their friends and family and the full pews of standing guests.

Feliciano squeezed his hand tightly as their cue came in the music, and they started down the aisle. Ludwig kept his eyes fixed forward the entire time, determined not to let anxiety get in his way.

It seemed to take too long to reach the altar, but they did, and Father Hirsch began the Mass greeting.

“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit-”

The assembly’s chorus on the _‘Amen’_ was shaky, as people who were unfamiliar to Christian ceremonies or simply out of practice caught on from those who knew what they were doing.

There was a general rustling of paper through the next portion of Father Hirsch’s words as people realized that the wedding program contained important cues about group responses.

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

The _‘And also with you’_ was stronger.

“The grace and the peace of God our Father and the Lord be with you.

“And also with you,” everyone speaking chorused in time.

“The Lord be with you-”

“-Peace be with you,” Cristoforo said, taking the second portion.

“And also with you.”

The group singing of _Gloria in Excelsis Deo_ started in musical disaster as those who didn’t know or had forgotten the hymn got the music confused it with the Christmas song based on the title- then realized that Ivan, Roderich, and the others were playing something _completely_ different, and tried to correct themselves to varying degrees of success.

The hymn ended and Ludwig caught Feliciano smiling a tiny bit at the way it had turned out.

A couple people started to sit.

Father Hirsch waited until they caught on, checked their programs, and promptly straightened back up.

“Almighty God, hear our prayers for Ludwig and Feliciano, who today are united in marriage before your altar. Give them your blessing, and strengthen their love for each other. We ask you this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”

_Now,_ everyone sat; Feliciano and Ludwig taking the chairs put out for them on the front dais.

Cristoforo ascended to the lectern for the Old Testament Reading.

“The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah; Chapter Thirty-One, Verses Thirty-One to Thirty-Four,” he began. “ _‘The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me.’_ The word of the Lord.”

“Thanks be to God,” came the dutiful response as everyone finally caught on to how often they would have to refer to their programs.

Those who weren’t expecting it- and even a few who were- jumped violently as Cristoforo switched immediately from lector to cantor, and began to sing the Responsorial Psalm.

The guests who had managed to stay on top of things joined in for the first line.

_“I will bless the Lord at all times.”_

_“I will bless the Lord at all times,”_ Cristoforo continued, solo. “ _His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.”_

More people joined in for the second response, but a good few were still trying to process.

_“I will bless the Lord at all times.”_

_“I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed.”_

_I will bless the Lord at all times.”_

_This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.”_

_“I will bless the Lord at all times.”_

_“O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him. O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want.”_

_“I will bless the Lord at all times.”_

The final response was the strongest one yet- and then everyone, including those used to Catholic services, was thrown for a loop once more as Cristoforo didn’t relinquish the lectern to someone else, but continued straight on into the New Testament reading.

“The First Epistle of John; Chapter 4, Verses Seven to Twelve. _‘Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.’_   The Word of the Lord.”

“Thanks be to God,” was the reply once more.

Everyone stood, mostly in tandem; and caught on to the fact that Cristoforo was _not_ going to leave the lectern until he had to as he led the singing of _‘Alleluia’_.

_‘Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God’_ ,” Cristoforo repeated.

This time, Father Hirsch took up the Scripture reading.

“The Gospel According to John- Chapter Seventeen, Verses Twenty through Twenty-Three.”

He paused a moment, to make sure everyone was following.

“ _‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me’_. The Gospel of the Lord.”

The assembly stumbled slightly over the new response- “Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ”- but managed, and sat.

* * *

Feliciano was _trying_ to pay attention to Father Hirsch’s Homily- he really was.

It was just hard, because it was the middle of _his wedding;_ and Ludwig was _right there;_ and after the Homily was finished and Father Hirsch was through talking about _‘the responsibilities of marriage’_ and the _‘sacredness of love’_ , they would get up again together and they would _say their vows,_ and-

Oh.

That was _right now._

Everyone stood, and Feliciano and Ludwig moved to the front of dais and Feliciano did not think that he could handle the anticipation, he had to force himself to stay still and it was so so _hard-_

“My dear friends,” Father Hirsch began. “You have come together in this church so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love in the presence of the Church’s minister and this community. Christ abundantly blesses this love. He has already consecrated you in baptism and now he enriches and strengthens you by a special sacrament so that you may assume the duties of marriage in mutual and lasting fidelity. And so, in the presence of the Church, I ask you to state your intentions.”

It was happening _it was happening-_

"Ludwig and Feliciano, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

“I have,” Feliciano said quickly.

Ludwig smiled at him, slightly; Feliciano couldn’t help but return it.

“I have.”

"Will you honor each other as spouses for the rest of your lives?"

I will,” Feliciano promised.

“I will.”

Father Hirsch was trying to keep a straight face- to Feliciano, it looked like he was on the verge of an awkward smile.

“Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.”

Ludwig reached out for Feliciano’s hand and squeezed gently, trying to steady his love despite sharing the same nervous excitement in his eyes.

Feliciano fell into the vow easily from memory; he’d heard it many times before.

“I, Feliciano, take you, Ludwig, to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

He’d _said it;_ oh dear Lord he’d _said it!_

Somehow the nervousness didn’t die now that he’d spoken his most important part in the ceremony- it just intensified sharply, and he stared at Ludwig, breathless, as he said his own vows.

“I, Ludwig, take you, Feliciano-”

It was hard to focus on the words when he knew how important they were, what it meant to say them.

When he heard _how_ Ludwig was saying them.

“-to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

The vows were over and he had a deep, overwhelming need to hug his _husband._

“You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide.”

“Amen,” everyone chorused, and Feliciano held himself back because they weren’t done yet; and Zell appeared with the rings and presented them to Father Hirsch.

“Lord, bless and consecrate Ludwig and Feliciano in their love for each other. May these rings be a symbol of true faith in each other, and always remind them of their love. Through Christ our Lord.”

“Amen.”

Ludwig took the first ring.

“Feliciano, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity,” he said, slipping it on Feliciano’s finger so it rested on top of the engagement ring he’d given him. “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Feliciano wet his lips and took the other, doing the same with Ludwig. His touch rested briefly on the engagement ring that he’d given Ludwig once- their first proposal, when they’d gotten their civil union papers.

“Ludwig, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Ivan and Roderich, in a moment of planned surprise, reprised a few bars of _Canon in D Major_.

Cristoforo glared at them until they stopped.

* * *

Ludwig almost wished that they had decided on a wedding without a Mass with it- they had enough non-Catholic guests that it would have been more convenient- but they were both, though it was more a technicality in his place, Catholic; so there was really no escaping it.

But now they had to go through the Nicene Creed, and Cristoforo led general prayers for health and peace and security; and then everyone sat back down and Cristoforo and Father Hirsch did the Eucharist together, which seemed to take up nearly as much time as the rest of the wedding itself; and then finally everyone who had come forward had received Communion.

One final prayer from Father Hirsch, for the two of them- and then Ivan and Roderich and the others began the recessional.

Ludwig had thought he and Feliciano could get some time alone while the group migrated to Potsdam; but he was besieged first by his children, then by the wedding party, and only managed to get away when the guests started clogging up the exit.

And Feliciano had disappeared.

He hunted around until he found Feliciano in a small chapel off the main sanctuary, kneeling on one of the folding prayer benches in front of an icon of Mary. Ludwig sat down silently next to him on the pew and waited for him to finish his rosary.

Feliciano looked up at him from his position near the floor and smiled sweetly, eyes bright.

Ludwig helped him stand, pulling him into a kiss. Feliciano melted into it.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all ceremony,” Ludwig admitted softly.

Feliciano snuggled closer.

“Me too-” he smirked a little. “ _Mein Mann_.”

Ludwig snorted at him and scooped him up, bridal style.

_“Ludwig!”_

“You were going to do it to me,” Ludwig reminded him. “After our civil union party, in Venice.”

“Well, you were too big!”

“ _You’re_ not.”

Feliciano pouted at him, then buried his face in Ludwig’s neck.

_“We’re **married,** ”_ he said quietly. “We got _married_ and we did it with a _priest_ in a _church_ and we did it _properly,_ we- we did it with God.”

“I know,” Ludwig replied. “I’m glad you’re happy.”

“And you’re happy too, right?”

“Of _course,_ Feliciano. How could I not be?”

Feliciano tried snuggling closer, but there really wasn’t any room to.

“So…” he said slowly, in a tone Ludwig can’t help but smile at. “Are you going to carry me back out like this…?”

“Give me a good reason why I shouldn’t,” Ludwig challenged, heading for the door back to the rest of the wedding with Feliciano still in his arms.

“There aren’t any,” his husband said easily, and gave him one more kiss.


End file.
